Amelia Coffaro and Elizabeth GriffinAdvertisement - Continue Reading Below"Because I have no breasts, I can feel my heartbeat closely." These are the words 30-year-old Milwaukee-based photographer Amelia Coffaro said to herself recently when reflecting back on two years of breast cancer treatment. She said them in recognition of the honor and love she now holds for her body and herself, after living through chemotherapy, radiation, and a double mastectomy. She said them to remind herself to listen to her body.
More From ELLEIn July of 2012, while living in New York City, and working day-in, day-out, that "voice" was something that was (as it is for many of us), very hard to hear, even after she found a lump. At first, Amelia thought it was exhaustion and back pain from life in the city. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the lump in her breast but felt something was amiss, so she decided to fly home and see her family doctor.
"Despite the lump and other symptoms I shared with my doctor, and despite the fact that I said I felt something wasn't right," says Amelia, "she reassured me the lump was 'nothing' because I was only 27, and it did not feel suspicious to her."
Amelia Coffaro and Elizabeth Griffin Left: Amelia's first mammogram, displaying her tumors; Right: Amelia in her hospital room on the morning of her double mastectomy
Amelia was given "a piece of paper with head and neck exercises" (to work out any possible swelling that could account for the mass) and was told to return in eight weeks if pain in her back persisted. But, like many other 27-year-olds, she returned to New York and "disappeared into [her] ridiculously fast-paced life." Some months went by and Amelia's health worsened. She recalls, "All I wanted to do was sleep; my bras no longer fit, and my chest appeared sunburned." So, in February of 2013, she went back for a visit with the family doctor once again. "I was hesitant to see her," says Amelia, "in part because I was uninsured and worried about medical bills, but my body was begging me to listen." Amelia recalls her doctor's eyes filling with tears during the exam. "She said, 'This is either a very bad breast infection or you have inflammatory breast cancer.'"
Amelia Coffaro and Elizabeth GriffinLeft: 1,000 mg of vitamin C; Right: Amelia's chemotherapy port
Amelia was sent for an emergency mammogram, biopsy, and ultrasound. When she looked at the films from her mammogram, she saw two tumors, each mirroring one another to form a heart shape. Eight days later, on Valentine's Day, Amelia began chemotherapy.
Amelia Coffaro and Elizabeth GriffinAdvertisement - Continue Reading Below